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NEW MUSIC VIDEOS Articles: Our Local Rat-Packer Jim Cummins Our Local Rat-Packer Jim Cummins By Sylvie Damien  Listening to a long-time crooner, with a definitive style and polish, makes for an evening of smooth, faultless music. Such is the case when you head on over to see Jim Cummins at his regular six-days-a-week piano bar gig at in Land O Lakes. There's something to be said about a lifetime of musical experience culminating into a nightly performance of choice. With over 20,000 songs in Cummins repertoire, comprising an enormous variety of styles, artists and songs (including his own originals), you can pretty much request any song you'd like to hear and he'll play it. He doesn't consider that in any way amazing, stating matter-of-factly that it's the rudiments of the businessand for a performing guy, it's the song, it's the raw material and you need a variety of songs. A far cry from the highly specialized artists of today about whom Cummins comments that musicians today don't have that ability because it's simply not a prerequisite. This piano man can just as equally deliver the Sinatra Rat-Pack song (the predominant focus), Jerry Lee Lewis, any hit country song, Bob Dylan or even Dixieland Jazz as easily as you and I take a breath.
Settling into this area after a lifetime of performing around the world, living on the road, and over a decade on the finest cruise and trans-Atlantic ships, he reinforces that musicians are all wandering minstrels we're working stiffs. Cummins originally started in Mississippi, first performing in a band when he was only 11 years old with other musicians in their 20's, 30's and 40's. He remembers, I got in the band which blew my mindI was surprised and gratefulmaybe they were using me for a mascot, I don't know, he joked., but the fact was, I played along with everyone else and had a great time! Self-taught on the piano, he doesn't read music. Although that hasn't impeded his career overall, he points out that he lost some good gigs, because he couldn't, preventing him from joining the band when he was in the Navy. Still, he seems to have had more success than most musicians dream of attaining. Growing up in the early 50's, his early musical influences were the contemporary artists on the scene and he remembers it was predominantly country with a little rockabilly. He was also swayed by folks like Roger Williams, Big Pink and Bob Dylan played a huge role in his musical persona as well as in a philosophical way. I was like a lot of other folks in my generation, I was trying to figure out what this guy was singing abouthe was mercurial to say the least. Cummins shared that the guy who had the most influence on the vocal part of course was Elvisin terms of the piano, the first real piano man I ever heard was Jerry Lee. I also was listening to records at home of Roger Williams and Chelsey Carl and people at that level. In his current sit-down setting at the piano bar in the restaurant, with the most truly exquisite Italian fare, prepared by Jon Benedetto, the proprietor and chef, Cummins primarily focuses on the Rat-Pack era during the dinner hour explaining, that's the focus. There were many requests for Elvis the night I went to hear him, and Cummins added that there are now almost as many for Johnny Cash since he passed away. This one-man band plays the piano and all the instruments (over 700) on his synthesizers, with no pre-recorded music of any kind. It's a remarkable feat to witness. It was akin to watching someone play several games of 3-D chess at lightning speed, or Clark Kent changing into Superman in a phone boothyou know what he's doing you just can't see him do it. The beauty of this musician's gift is that he makes it seem effortless. After 11pm, when the dinner crowd thinned out, the lingering folks-in-the-know stay behind to rock with Cummins. This is when he can let loose and bring it up and notch and take his performance to another level a little louder, a little bolder and a little more of who Cummins is shines through. This talented performer, highly polished, will entertain you in a way that you cannot ignore him. He doesn't fade into the background, nor does he clash with the atmosphere of enjoying a fine meal. Cummins knows how to walk that linebut if you thought you were just going to Benedetto's for amazing cuisine, forget ityou'll stop in mid-bite to look up and ask yourself, who is that singing?and then you'll get it. Voted Entertainer of the Year by Tampa Bay's Finest, what you see with Jim Cummins is exactly what you getand that's a whole heck of a lot. Sizzling with The Soular System
Summer heated up even more when the Soular System played at Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa recently. On an already steamy night, this eight-piece band, sometimes more, sometimes less (missing that night was keyboard player Danny Bedrosian who plays with George Clinton), complete with a horn section, jazzed the crowd with its unique blend of funk and rock n roll that they brought with them from their home base in Tallahassee. With The Reverand Desmond D'Angelo, dressed in an ice blue suit with white buck shoes, cajoling the audience with his gritty, frenetically appealing lead vocals, the band played their original tunes catching the ears of people on barstools at the opposite end of this outdoor venue. It was hard to not pay attention to these guys once they got started, and for good reason. In reading their press kit, prior to going to see the band, I was intrigued by the challenge to define the genre of their eclectic brand of music. It instantly came to me the moment I heard them Rick James meets Santana, with perhaps a ghost of Tower of Power. Their strong rhythm section cranks up the support for Mike Maloney on lead guitar who seems to make music out of what might only sound like noise when played by someone less skilled. He strums with unfettered emotion while still holding together the groove for the brass players. There's so much to hearif you listen carefully. Definitely the funk and the rock n roll screams through, but in there somewhere, you catch a subtle jazz influence, a feel of reggae and a little bit of hip hop thrown in and was that a hint of Dylan I heard as well? Originally known as The Cactus Pricks, a more Chili Pepper-esque type of sound, D'Angelo described it as a lot more angularit wasn't as smooth as the music they play today. Talking to them in the parking lot outside Skipper's, it became clear that their diverse music backgrounds have fused into this energetic sound. Noticing that they lined up to speak with me in the same order that they perform on stage, I spoke to them in order as well, starting right to left with Maloney. It made it easier to remember who said what Together for ten years, they have vastly different musical influences. Maloney was deep into Bob Dylan, still is (he looks like a new-age Dylan), Neil Young and The Band (all-time favorite), a little Nirvana thrown in and a supreme love of funk. The Reverend calling himself a total music snob, shared that he loves good music and doesn't like bad music I do listen to Princehe and Jimmy Hendrix are my all-time heroes and I don't listen to Creed and I don't like The Beatles at all, but I really like Led Zeppelin, no hesitation there. D'Angelo is the band's lyricist as well, expressing his ideas provocatively and politically at times, Maloney writes a lot of the music, with a funky feel and the whole band jumps in, all writing periodically and then band together for arrangementsand for the most part, it works, Pedro Bizarro Pizarro joked. Jes Bradley, their sticks player, cited his dad, also a drummer, as a huge inspiration but conceded that folks like the Police and Led Zeppelin played a role as well. Bassist Ral is more on the reserved side and didn't say very much. Brass men Sir Rothenberg Roth, on trombone and flute, grew up with a Frank Zappa influence, and Pedro calls his love of the sax an appetite for destruction. The Damn Biz, who plays the horn, grew up with a mom who loved salsa and a dad who was into Dizzie Gillespie. His classical training in jazz and reggae bring a big band flavor to the band's funkiness. The Soular System's live performance is high energy, with a line-up kind of choreography reminiscent of Kool & The Gang, full of turns, sways and even deep-knee bends by D'Angelo, with Maloney throwing in kung-fu boxing moves. If you're looking for a sing-along type of sound, you won't find it hereinstead you'll hear a sharp, intense, make-you-want-to-get-up-and-move kind of percussive reverb, with gifted, visceral musicians that rekindle the lost punk in youlet loose, these guys get it done. 10 lbs. of Funk (In a 5 lb. Bag) and The Soular System as of 2003 A.D and a live album Down On the Farm, the CDs to date and their new album All the Way Out & All the Way In is scheduled for release on October 13, 2006. The Wholigans A Knock-Your-Red-Socks Off Band
When I first saw Roger Daltrey and The Who at the Brooklyn Fox Theater in New York, in a double billing with Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels, I was stunned. After a performance that blew out all your senses, The Who blew up their instruments, smashing them to bits, a piece of a guitar neck landing on my shoulder (if only eBay had been around then!). As a kid, I was mesmerized, shocked and thrilled all at the same time. Today we all know that would become a common occurrence for The Who in their heyday. Back then it was a stunner. Countless years later (more than I care to admit), earlier this year actually, I got to relive that experience when I went to see The Wholigans at the Safety Harbor Festival. Billed as The World's Longest Running and Most Successful Who Tribute Act, this band really does live up to this statement. These guys really give you a genuine feel for The Who's live performances, if you were lucky enough to have seen them in the 1970's what's referred to as the Live At Leeds era. Barry Quinn, who plays the part of Roger Daltrey, formed The Wholigans in 1982 in Toronto, Canada. Quinn, originally from Newcastle, England, now making Florida his home base, didn't initially start out to make this tribute a myriad of circumstances drove him to this fate, aside from an amazing resemblance to the original rocker but he wound up playing and loving the songs of The Who; so it was a natural progression to combine his talents with his love of the music. Touring Canada and the U.S., the band eventually landed in Florida, although they play all over the planet, recently returning from a spring appearance at the Who Convention in the UK. These musicians really love to play and go to great lengths to do so, with one band member living in Georgia another in Canada.so getting together is an effort they put forth just to be able to perform at the different venues. Unlike most bands that live in the same city, seems like a logical idea to me, the guys just can't pick up and jam whenever they would like. They have to make a point fly in from different areas to play ANY gig now that's dedication. This band is big on details, and prides itself on the attention to the smallest thing like Christopher Bacon (Pete Townsend) wearing the famous red socks, even though no one gets to see them. They stay true to the original band members with drummer Darren Atkinson (who also smashes his gear) as the late Keith Moon, Bacon who jumps around like Townsend and the youngest of the guys, Mark Tinker, who amazingly enough plays with a partial hearing loss, as John Entwistle.
As with the original band, this tribute band plays extremely well in urban cities, appealing to the common man, the blue collar worker and yet to see them in concert, young kids today are rocking right along with them, knowing all the cues in each song where the original Who fans would raise their fists in unison or sing the chorus. Quinn refers to The Who as the thinking man's music, attributing much of the band's success to this. Clearly it's the live performances which made The Who as successful as they are, a fact not lost on this band. The Wholigans tap into that audience power and succeed in making the connection. We're rich and famous says Quinn, but without the rich part. Both a love of the job and a love of the music show through in their performances. If you've never been a Who fan, this band might just make you one and if you've been one like me since the first US appearance, you're going to walk away remembering what it was like when you first saw them awesome! There's a little Who treasure in this Florida band lucky for us Quinn didn't settle down in North Dakota. www.thewholigans.com
Meaning to see the folk/rock duo Providence for some time, I recently had the opportunity to hear them play at the Octagon Center in Largo. As the opening act, they quietly came out on stage, their demeanor not an indication of the strong and clear music that soon enveloped the theater. As Lisa and Pam started to sing original songs from their CD simply titled Providence, the audience was still. Big Beautiful Woman makes a big and brassy' statement as a lyric and as a song defining the role of women with a feeling reminiscent of Helen Reddy's I Am Woman - at the height of Women's Lib. Sweet Desire, Is Love Real and several other cuts deal with the never-ending search to find the meaning of love. This CD is about human emotions no fluff songs to be found just honest feelings about life. It's apparent from the start that these two talented musicians have found good karma in each other, harmoniously blending their two distinct voices into the one that is Providence, a blues/folk duo that will captivate you with their music. Lisa Noe and Pam Green met several years ago, each in other bands, Lisa in a trio, Pam in a duo, running in similar circles for three or four years, each being aware of the other's music. Eventually Pam gave Lisa her card and invited her to make a demo at her in-home recording studio. They subsequently got together for a jam session and discovered they played very well together. Each was looking to move on to another band and fate stepped in and took it from there. They've now been together since 2002 when they appeared for the first time at the Gulfport Art Walk. Providence writes their own music, both artists having very different approaches. For Lisa, songs are based on a strong idea or thought, as opposed to just putting words to a melody. Lisa says I start with the ideaI can watch people interact and see a wow, cool idea and start with that one incident that I saw and lyrics come to mind. Pam on the other hand says that's totally the opposite for meI communicate through playing, and composes the music first on the guitar. Their different styles result in a soothing blend of evocative sounds and lyrics. Both of these talented performers are formally trained, as college music majors. Lisa started singing at age three, learning guitar at four. Pam started guitar early on as well it was her Mom's. She just picked it up and that was it for me! Learning to play as a kid, first with a twelve string guitar, Lisa's Dad removed the harmony strings to let her get used to it that way. Growing up in Kentucky Lisa used to listen to BBC radio as a kid. We could pick up everything she remembers from Mabel Carter to Willie Nelson, pretty much folk/country stuff. Among her early influences were Emilou Harris whom she says is great! and many more including Barbara Mandrell and the Indigo Girls. Growing up in Texas, Pam was at one time a physical education teacher, although music was always her passion. She was mostly influenced by the folk genre, yet she has a diverse affinity for music from the Kingston Trio to Nancy Wilson and yes, she too loves the Indigo Girls. Viewing herself as not a natural singer (could have fooled all of us), she sees herself as the one most technical on the guitar as well as percussion. She uses the Jambay, an African based drum, on certain songs. It's an interesting instrument, often sounding like more than one drum, according to Pam depending on how you strike it. Their next-to-be-released CD is the first where the duo has written songs together, the girls feel it was a revealing and great experience, risking exposure through peeling off layers, much like their song Get Naked. Their trust in each other, they say, has produced more than expected and after a year in the studio, Providence says it paid off. The bottom line is that Providence's music is so filled with fluid notes and sounds that range from calming you with angelic phrasing to riling you with a gritty vocal and drum, that the evening is over before you realize it leaving you with a good feeling. You know they've taken you somewhere for a little while and it's a pleasing experience that makes you smile.
Breaking into the local nightclub scene in a band is always a difficult task. You have to really want it more than anything. The Cuban Sandwich Crisis Band really wants it BAD. This group based out of Pinellas County just released their second CD of original songs “sundaybest” when they performed recently at Abbey Road in St Pete. Jason Merritt, the youngest and the creative influence keeping the band on the right track; Dennis Pavluk, the oldest and most seasoned and also the prankster of the group; Dave Russell the band clown and Joe Terrana, the den mother are as eclectic and diverse as the cuts on their new CD. Not yet at the point where they can quit their day jobs, they work as a news reporter in Sarasota, a middle-school tutor, at AARP and at the Florida Fish & Wild Life Commission. These are talented musicians, college-educated. Two of them Pavluk and Terrana are formally trained and have degrees in music. Even with only four in the band, they play a range of instruments that include saxophone, flute and didgeridoo, adding to the different flavors of their music. This CD of original music gives you a clear appreciation of their versatility. You'll be hard pressed to define “sundaybest” which features a myriad of different sounds. There's something for everyone, which may work at this stage of their career but does little to brand them for industry success. There's the “Celtic Drinking Song,” the Spanish Flamenco-sounding “Red Cantina,” the rap-infused “My Liberation,” the lyrical “Leave It All Behind” and the re-affirming “Grounded.” The latter is a great piece of advice they gave themselves when Merritt felt it slipping away a bit and wrote the song to always remind himself to stay grounded. Seems to be working. The guys in the band are clearly committed to their success and have the pure energy and enthusiasm of the young. They seem to be aware of the other issues that come with success and realize they might need to make musical compromises further down the road. Aware that professional management will bring changes, the guys are looking forward to evolving to the next level. The Cuban Sandwich Crisis Band has not yet experienced the tension between commercial and artistic success, but they know it's coming and knowing is half the battle. Scheduled third in the line-up of four bands that night, their live performance was the first in the evening to really get the crowd engaged. It seemed like everyone moved over to stand in front of this band to rock with them they make that all important band-fan connection. They play well in person and already have a following in this area. Clearly these are good musicians, although not all sound systems are created equal. Styling their live performances with the thought in mind that regular people will be actually paying real money to see them will help them polish their gigs and mature into their own skin. The Cuban Sandwich Band stood out that night among the bands because they've got the talent and a sound that's fresh and diverse. This could be an exciting journey for them, with a lot of hard work and the right breaks. The key is being ready and prepared when luck falls into their laps. So far they're on the right path talent, desire, level-headedness, they're all there. “sundaybest” is worth a listen. I'd say, be on the lookout for these guys. Well-known Jersey Band Plays at Fever Pitch
A recent Friday night in New Port Richey Florida was cool and felt a touch wintry for the South - a night you may not have wanted to leave the warmth and coziness of your home to drive to a club and spend it in a crowd. It was a night more for sipping a hot drink by the fireplace wondering what happened to the Florida temperature. A Cover Album? Say It Ain't so Bruce! So were you like me, reeling with anticipation at the possibility of a new album and another amazing tour from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band later this year? Were you one of those folks that acknowledged Springsteen's need to Go Dark every now and again, find his musical muse and patiently wait for Bruce to come out of it and bring with him the kind of music that made him the Boss? For more info visit brucespringsteen.net |
